Combine 2012

CombineStats:

40 Yard Dash Secs

Vertical Jump inches

Broad Jump inches

Bench Press14.0 reps

Strengths

Blackmon has a nice frame and actually seems taller than he is. He possesses elite jumping ability and can be a jump-ball, red zone threat despite being barely over 6 feet. He has Anquan Boldin-type ability running drive and underneath routes, and can excel from any spot on the field. He would be a severe mismatch working out of the slot, something he did occasionally at OSU. Blackmon is extremely polished in his technique in-phase, and he has an incredible ability to vary his speed to keep defenders off balance. He is slow off the line but is able to release with ease by utilizing both his strength and jab steps. Blackmon is a natural receiver who understands how to read coverages and sit down in zones. He is a very aggressive catcher who literally attacks the ball when it is within his large catching radius, and he has the ability to use his frame to box out defenders. Blackmon can naturally adjust to poorly thrown balls on the run and can bail quarterbacks out of poorly thrown balls.

Weaknesses

Blackmon is not as quick off the ball as his athletic ability would suggest. He has good top-end speed and acceleration in the open field, but struggles to burst enough in short areas to separate. He has such an elongated stride as a runner that he has difficulties running sharp routes. Much of his production comes from being a playmaker at the point of the catch and afterwards; he doesn't get himself open through route running. As a blocker, he is an all-or-nothing type who can't recover once whiffing on a block. He will need a lot of work on his technique in this area. Blackmon's stride could stand to be his biggest problem at the next level, as it could be difficult to get open against premier athletes with the amount of gathering and stuttering it takes in his footwork to change directions.